LPR staff

LIBERTY HILL — Longtime Lockhart rival Bastrop has only returned to the district schedule for two seasons, but the Lions and Bears will likely be playing for more important matters than bragging rights when the two schools square off Friday at Lions Stadium.

Bastrop visits Lions Stadium with a 7 p.m. kickoff with the winner keeping realistic postseason hopes alive.

“I think so,” Lockhart Head Coach Todd Moebes said regarding a must-win scenario. “It’s the one this week, so we’ve gotta win. When you get down towards the end of the season, they all get important.”

Currently, Bastrop sits in the all-important fourth position in District 13, a half-game ahead of Lockhart and Kerrville Tivy, both at 1-2. Bastrop already has a win over Tivy, 41-22, at home.

Bastrop and Lockhart have three common opponents. Bastrop beat Lehman in Kyle, 29-15, while Lockhart lost at Lehman 41-31. Both teams handled winless Cedar Creek – Bastrop winning 34-7 and Lockhart claiming a 42-20 win. And both Bastrop and Lockhart lost to Veterans Memorial, albeit in far different outcomes as the Patriots pummeled Bastrop, 55-8 at Bastrop Memorial Stadium in Cedar Creek, while the Lions lost in overtime at home to VMHS, 48-42.

The good thing for Lockhart is it gets both Bastrop and Tivy (Nov. 3) at home.

Bastrop’s 10^th and final regular season game will be Oct. 27 at home against Liberty Hill.

Liberty Hill proved too much for Lockhart last week, winning at Panther Stadium, 56-41.

The Panthers racked up 645 yards of offense, and although Lockhart had another strong offensive game, the Lions just get over the hill after falling behind two touchdowns in the first half of the first quarter.

“Liberty Hill is a really good football team,” Moebes said. “They do what they do well. They’re efficient at what they do. They’re fast and physical and they’re tough to stop.”

Lockhart quarterback Ashton Dickens was spectacular again rushing the ball – 21 times for 200 yards. He ran for four touchdowns and passed for two more.

The game was full of explosive plays. Liberty Hill never drove more than seven plays for a touchdown and scored on plays of 13, 46, 20, 77, 61, 39, 1, and 11 yards. Lockhart scored on three on-plat drives and scores on plays of 47, 7, 70, 36, 3, and 24 yards.

“I thought we played well, but we were scoring so fast on offense… I think their coach would say the same thing about us,” Moebes said.

The Lions had 469 yards of total offense.

Liberty Hill reached the end zone on its first two possessions to lead 14-0. The Panthers scored first on fullback Ben Carter’s 13-yard run with 8:31 left in the first quarter, and again when the brother combination of quarterback Jake Pitchford connected with Joe Pitchford on a 46-yard pass with 5:46 left in the first.

Liberty Hill Baylor-commit Connor Hawkins later missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, and Lockhart cut its deficit in half on the very next play when Dickens scampered 47 yards down the right sideline on the final play of the first period. Omar Ocampo’s PAT made it 14-7.

Liberty Hill stretched its lead to 21-7 with 10:12 left in the first half when Jake Pitchford scored on a 20-yard keeper.

It took Lockhart two plays to get back in the end zone. First, Nathaniel Gonzales sprinted 68 yards to the Liberty Hill 7, and Dickens did the honors n the bext ply. Ocampo made it 21-14 with 9:52 left in the first half.

A 77-yard run by Liberty Hill’s Bryce Muchaw made it 28-14 with 8:02 left in the half, but Lockhart responded again. In fact, on the very next play from scrimmage Dickens raced 70 yards to paydirt. Ocampo’s PAT made it 28-21 with 7:49 left in the half.

After Zakaya Gathings caused a fumble and Trey Brown recovered, Lockhart again took just one play to score, this time on a 36-yard pass from Dickens to wide open freshman Jordan Frohock. Ocampo’s kick was blocked, leaving Liberty Hill on top, 28-27, with 4:33 left in the half.

It only took Liberty Hill four plays to score again, this time on DJ Seaborn’s 61-yard scamper. Hawkins’ PAT made it 35-27 with 2:42 left in the half, which is where things stood at intermission.

Liberty Hill scored just here plays int the third quarter, a 39-yard run by Carter. With 10:51 left in the period, the Panthers led 42-27.

Lockhart drove 75 yards in 14 plays to make it 41-33 with Dickens powering in from three yards out. However, the run for two failed.

Liberty Hill made it 49-33 with 1:28 left in the third when Carter scored again, this time on a one-yard run.

Lockhart added its final TD with 6:05 left in the game when Dickens connected with Gage Deutsch, who made a great run across the field to reach paydirt. Dickens also ran in the two-pointer to make it 49-41.

Liberty Hill put the game on ice with 3:40 remaining when Joe Pitchford raced in from 11 yards out. Hawkins’ PAT made it 56-41.

Last year, Lockhart edged Bastrop, 35-31, in Cedar Creek as the long-ago rivalry was renewed.

* * *

District 13 Standings

All      District

Pieper            6-1       3-0

Liberty Hill     5-3       3-1

Vets Mem.     5-3       3-1

Bastrop          5-3       2-2

Kerrville Tivy  5-2       1-2

Lockhart        2-5       1-2

Cedar Creek   0-8       0-5

Last week scores:

Liberty Hill 56, Lockhart 41

Pieper 46, Cedar Creek 10

Veterans Memorial 55, Bastrop 8

Tivy was open

Next week’s games:

Bastrop at Lockhart 

Pieper at Veterans Memorial 

Tivy at Cedar Creek

Liberty Hill is open

GAME STATS

Liberty Hill 56, Lockhart 41

Oct. 13, Panther Stadium, Liberty Hill

Score by Quarters

Lockhart                       7      20         6       8     —  41

Liberty Hill                  14      21       14       7     —  56

TEAM STATS                    Lockhart     Liberty Hill

First Downs                                17                    22

Rushes-Yards                           36-307            58-537

Passing                                  10-23-0                3-4-0

Passing Yards                                 162                108

Total Yards                                    469                645

Punts-Avg.                                3-34.3                    —

Penalties-Yards                          10-85            13-100

Fumbles-Lost                              1-0                  5-2

Time of Possession (regulation)      18:28              29:32

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING

LOCKHART — Dickens 21-200, Gonzales 11-84, Key 3-12, Moebes 1-12. LIBERTY HILL — Carter 29-186, Jo. Pitchford 7-117, Muchaw 4-94, Seaborn 5-82, Ja. Pitchford 11-54, Camarena 2-4.

PASSING

LOCKHART — Dickens 10-23-0-162. LIBERTY HILL — Ja. Pitchford 3-4-0-108.

RECEIVING

LOCKHART — Frohock 3-51, Moebes 2-45, Detsch 2-36, Gonzales 1-24, Staton 1-3, Holcomb 1-3. LIBERTY HILL — Jo. Pitchford 1-46, Fulford1-41, Smith 1-21.

* * *

SCORING

First Quarter

LIBERTY HILL — Carter 13 run (Hawkins kick), 8:31

LIBERTY HILL — Jo. Pitchford 46 pass from Ja. Pitchford (Hawkins kick), 5:46

LOCKHART — Dickens 47 run (Ocampo kick), :00

Second Quarter

LIBERTY HILL — Ja. Ptchford 20 run (Hawkins kick), 10:12

LOCKHART — Dickens7 run (Ocampo kick), 9:52

LIBERTY HILL — Muchaw 77 run (Hawkins kick), 8:02

LOCKHART — Dickens70 run (Ocampo kick), 7:49

LOCKHART — Frohock 36 pass from Dickens (Ocampo kick), 4:33

LIBERTY HILL — Seaborn 61 run (Hawkins kick), 2:42

Third Quarter

LIBERTY HILL — Carter 39 run (Hawkins kick), 10:51

LOCKHART — Dickens 3 run (run fail), 5:13

LIBERTY HILL — Carter 1 run (Hawkins kick), 1:28

Fourth Quarter

LOCKHART — Deutsch 24 pass from Dickens (Ocampo kick), 6:05

LIBERTY HILL — Jo. Pitchford 11 run (Hawkins kick), 3:40